Hudson Valley Orienteering Competition

For the second outing in a row we had fantastic weather.  

The Troop competed in an Orienteering competition today and the Scouts did really well.  The meet was run by the Hudson Valley orienteering Club and consisted of several courses the scouts could choose from.  Most of Troop 4 competed in two timed courses, a 1.3K and a 1.6K course.  We all got a chance to learn a few new skills and practice some old ones.

Unfortunately I took no photos so no link to our picture page this time.

For full results see the clubs web site here:

http://hvo.us.orienteering.org/content/results2014/explore.html

We are listed by Purdys #, and by Troop 4 in the results.

Housatonic Canoe Trip

Well, for the first time since June, Troop 4 has had an outing without rain.  It was warm, sunny and mild all day for a spectacular trip down the Housatonic River in Connecticut.  

Seven canoes made up the Troop armada and carried 15 of us down stream with only one scout getting wet.  All in all a pretty good day.

At the end of our trip was a really beautiful waterfall we got to explore.  The scouts even discovered a large cave hidden in the rocks and a small stream running under the rocks.  They spotted where the water entered the rocks at the top of the falls and found the exit point in the rocks at the bottom.

My favorite part of the afternoon was when my son Henry found some graffiti left by one of our ancestors 128 years ago etched into the rocks at the falls.

Clearly old George was not a Boy Scout and did not subscribe to the Scout ethos of "Leave No Trace", but it was still pretty cool.

For all the pictures taken on the canoe trip please check out the Troop photo page at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/HousatonicCanoeTripSeptember2014?noredirect=1

Updates to Troop Calendar

With the decision on activities the Scouts made on Monday I have some updates to the Troop Calendar.  The full updated calendar can be found on the Troop resource page here: 

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxIHiLq40PiGNy1xT3YyUUZjaW8/edit?usp=docslist_api

And on our online Google calendar 

The additions are:

Church Tag Sale set up 9/28

Church Tag Sale break down 10/4

Fall Camporee dates 10/24-10/26

Owl Prowl 11/1

Webelos Outdoorsman Weekend

Lately it seems like Troop 4 and rain go hand in hand.  Another campout and more rain.  This time the skies opened up on us during our hike with the Webelos from Pack 1, and even though we had rain gear we still all managed to get soaked.

Den 11 was our guest for the weekend at Hoyt Scout Reservation where the Troop 4 scouts led the Webelos through the requirements and skills development required for their Outdoorsman pin. 

Whipping and fusing of ropes, knots, rain fly set up, safe hiking rules, map reading, fire safety, and cooking were all part of the knowledge transfer our scouts helped the Webelos with.  Our Troop 4 1st year Scouts Tyler, Donato, Jasper, and Tony did a fantastic job teaching the scouting skills we covered and made the Webelos feel part of the group.

Everyone had a grand time and we are all looking forward to our canoe trip next week, hopefully without the rain.

For a full record of this weekend's activities check out our Troop 4 photo album at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/WebelosOutdoorsmanCampoutSep2014?noredirect=1